One Year of the World’s Longest Invoice
One Year Since the Relaunch of the World’s Longest Invoice, Nonpayment Remains a National Crisis
One year ago, we relaunched the World’s Longest Invoice to shine a light on one of the most pervasive issues facing independent workers. Since then, the numbers have only grown and they tell a sobering story.
In just twelve months, over 1000 freelancers from 44 states have added their names and invoices to the campaign. Together, they’ve reported more than $7.4 million in unpaid wages.
These aren’t edge cases or one-off mistakes. They’re evidence of a system that continues to allow clients to delay, avoid, or deny payment with little consequence. Freelancers from nearly every industry have participated—graphic designers, film editors, rideshare drivers, writers, musicians, consultants, and more. Nonpayment is not confined to a niche. It cuts across sectors, locations, and experience levels.
The result is always the same. The work gets done. The check never arrives. One in three freelancers has dealt with nonpayment, and many never see a dime. Too often, there's no contract, no accountability, and no consequence for clients who simply disappear when the invoice arrives.
We launched the original World’s Longest Invoice campaign in 2014 to expose the scale of this exploitation. That campaign helped drive the historic passage of the Freelance Isn’t Free Act in New York City. Since then, the movement has spread. Freelance protection laws are now active in: New York City, New York State, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, Seattle, Columbus, Illinois and California.
These laws mandate written contracts, require timely payment, prohibit retaliation, and provide real enforcement mechanisms. They recognize what freelancers have always known—that nonpayment is wage theft, plain and simple.
But freelancers in most of the country still have no legal shield. That’s unacceptable.
Right now, bills have been introduced in Georgia, New Hampshire, Kansas, Missouri, and Washington State, but have yet moved forward. We need lawmakers to act. And we need our community to raise their voices.
The World’s Longest Invoice isn’t just a public awareness tool. It’s a living document.
We use it to educate lawmakers, rally support, and fight for protections in every state. Every submission adds power to our movement. Every unpaid invoice is another call to action.
If you've done the work and never been paid, you're not alone and you're not powerless.
Add your invoice. Share your story. Let’s make this impossible to ignore.